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Outdoor LED signs and electricity power consumption

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When it comes to super high brightness outdoor LED signs, power consumption may be an important factor to choose the LED Sign technology. We often get asked from people “how much is electricity consumption of outdoor LED signs? “ or “should I choose more expensive energy saving LED sign products?”.

To answer these questions, we need to calculate the power consumption of LED sign over its life span and calculate the electricity bill with local electricity rates.

Outdoor LED signs and electricity power consumption

Normal outdoor LED signs vs. Energy saving

Normal outdoor LED signs use 5V LED lamp and consume around 700-800 W per square meter of sign with highest brightness of >6000 nits. The average electricity consumption of this LED technology will be around 450 W/m2. But Energy saving LED signs use lower voltage down to 2.8V, results in around 50% less energy consumption. So, maximum energy consumption of Energy Saving outdoor LED signs will be 450 W/m2 and average energy consumption will be around only 200 W/m2.

Should I choose Energy Saving LED signs?

Answer of this question depends on size of the sign, your budget you have considered to spend and your local electricity rates. Take a 2×1m outdoor LED signs. According to the electricity rates of Australia in 2015-2016 it cost around 20 cents per kW of electricity. If you turn your display on for 24hr per day and all days of the year, this sign consume 2×450×(24×365)=7800kW per year. It adds $1500 to your electricity bill per year. But, energy saving LED technology with 50% efficiency, can save 50% of your electricity costs and reduce it to around $750 per year. Considering 5 years of operation, you can save up to $3750 by using this technology.

But, we need to consider extra cost of using this technology which is around %20 more expensive than traditional 5V LED lamps technology. A 2×1m traditional Fixed Series Outdoor LED sign costs around $7000, and you need to pay extra $2000 to upgrade the LED module to energy saving technology. So, over a period of 5-year operation it can overlay save $3750-$2000=$1750. And don’t forget that this is for relatively small 2m by 1m sign. If you had a 20 square meter sign, that would increase to hefty number of $23,000.

Choosing between tradition and energy saving LED technology depends on lots of factors. Operating hours, total size of the LED sign and electricity rates may change this calculation. To receive more information based on your requirements please contact us.